Vincent van Gogh: Portrait of Patience Escalier

A Brief Understanding of this portrait

There are a few things that can fit into the category of Portrait of Patience Escalier; the shrunken apple heads of our youth, bulldog puppies, and even the face of one's beloved grandmother. All of these things are lovely in the eyes of most and remind us of happy times spent with family, adorable puppies, or fun creations. What bonds all of these things together is deep contours and wrinkles, a visual perception of age and wisdom, and good hearted enjoyment. Taking into consideration Van Gogh's desire and love to draw pheasants it is understandable that Patience Escalier fits within this category. He was gardener and shepherd whom Van Gogh chose to draw and paint because of the underlying resemblance of Gogh's Father's worn face.

Immediately after viewing the Portrait of Patience Esclair one notices the deep set ridges of the figures face; protruding cheek bones, and melting nose line. These features are nearly interchangeable with the objects discussed earlier; unaware, the viewer begins to form a mental chain between the portrit and the objects. Considering the fact that most of the objects are related to pleasure, the viewer is pulled into the portrait with a developing sense of euphoria.

This euphoria is stirred up into a centrifuge bliss when the eye catches the interesting pattern in the background that is articulated with intensity. This keeps the viewers eye actively moving around, holds ones attention, and bounces the portrait out like a visual popup book. This dimensional technique is used in many great pieces of artwork.

Portrait of Patience Escalier - Three Images:

• Pen Drawing
• Oil on Canvas
• Oil on Canvas - Shepherd in Provence

Worthy Links:

• Van Gogh Museum

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